"I was convinced I had died and gone to heaven and was listening to the music of the Angels"by Benjamin Franklin's wife Deborah,who had listened to the Armonica for the first time as she awoke

​The Crystal Armonica is an instrument with 30 pure quartz crystal bowls and has extremely soothing high frequency sounds. The special overtones of the Armonica (1000-4000Hz) activates your pineal gland (6th chakra) elevating one into a deeper consciousness. Temple Gong, Didgeridoo, Samadhi and Crystal Bowls, flutes and other hypnotic instruments will also help to take you into a deep healing journey.

Heaven﻿ly sound of the Armonica

﻿﻿﻿What is the Crystal Armonica?﻿﻿﻿

The Crystal Armonica is also called "Glass Harmonica", "Glass Armonica" or simply called "Armonica" and was invented by Benjamin Franklin. Chiho calls her instrument a "Crystal Armonica" because her Armonica (produced by G. Finkenbeiner. Ink) is made of pure Quartz Crystal and contains no lead. (It is composed of greater than 99% pure silicon dioxide, producing the purest tones available in glass.)

Chiho's Armonica consists of 30 Qartz Crystal bowls. The bowls are cupped together and attached to a metal rod which passes through the bottom centre of the bowls. The rod is attached to a wheel which is turned by an electric motor (some people use hands or a foot pedal as in 18th century). While the bowls are spinning, the musician wets their fingers and places them on the bowls edge. This friction creates a beautiful crystal sound similar to the tones created when rubbing the edge of a wine glasse. The bowls are tuned in a chromatic scale and the sharps are indicated by a gold lustered edge.

The human ear is most sensitive to sounds with frequencies in the 1000 to 4000 Hz range (Faculty of Health Science, University of Cape Town). The predominant timbre of the Armonica is in the range of 1000–4000 Hz, which activates our pineal gland - 6th chakra (third eye) elevating one into a deeper consciousness.

﻿Brief History of the Armonica﻿

Benjamin Franklin invented the Armonica in 1761 after being inspired by the beautiful sounds created when people played water-filled wine glasses. He worked with a glassblower to make bowls with desired pitches without being filled with water. He called his invention the "armonica" after the Italian word for "harmony".

“ The Armonica was one of the most celebrated instruments of the 18th century. Franklin began to take his beloved Armonica with him when he traveled and played popular Scottish tunes or original compositions for his audiences. Later, composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, and Donizetti would write music for the Armonica.""Marie Antoinette also played the Armonica. A French Doctor Franz Anton Mesmer used it to relax ('to mesmerize') his patients before examining them. ”

The instrument's popularity did not last far beyond the 18th century. Some claim this was due to strange rumors that using the instrument caused both musicians and their listeners to go mad. A modern version of the "purported dangers" claims that players suffered lead poisoning because Armonicas were made of lead glass. However, there is no known scientific basis for the theory that merely touching lead glass can cause lead poisoning. Furthermore, historical replicas by Eisch use so-called 'White Crystal' replacing the lead with a higher potash content, many modern devices, such as those made by Finkenbeiner, are made from pure silica glass.

Armonica in a video installation "Mieru""Sunrise Shower" from the latest album "Nomad Dream" is used for a video installation "Mieru" (means 'I can see' in Japanese) created by filmmaker and visual artist, Jennie Feyen. She was inspired by the story that Chiho told about her experience with a group of hearing-impaired children at her concert in Kobe. A few people in the audience approached Chiho after the concert and said their children, who are hearing-impaired, claimed they could see colours when listening to the Armonica ! Chiho had a similar experiences at other concerts too.Please listen to the Armonica and let us know if you see some colours you usually don't see ...